4th Amendment Back at SCOTUS, Immigration Back At Congres

Supreme Court Decides Dog Sniffing Outside Home Constitutes Search

Overshadowed by the arguments on same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court decided a major Fourth Amendment case last week. In a 5 to 4 split, the Court declared that using a police dog to sniff outside a house constitutes a search for purposes of Fourth Amendment privacy protections and, thereby, requires a search warrant. Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion, resolved the question on property rights grounds. Going on someone’s porch, he said, is trespassing and, therefore so is a police search. We will talk to Leslie Shoebotham, a professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. While we have her on the phone, we’ll find out what other Fourth Amendment analysis we can expect from the Court this term.

Senate Members:  Congress Close to Immigration Bill After Deal on Guest Workers

The so-called Gang of Eight bipartisan U.S. senators are reportedly close to a deal on immigration following reports over the weekend of an agreement on the issue of guest workers. A late-night deal on Friday on the guest worker issue resolved a conflict between business groups and unions over allowing guest workers take legal jobs in the country, considered a significant roadblock before a deal on immigration overall. Despite Senators Lindsey Graham and Charles Schumer’s declarations of an imminent deal, however, Senator Marco Rubio released a statement yesterday saying they aren’t as close as reports suggest.  We will talk to Humberto Sanchez, political reporter for Roll Call. 

Mark Sanford, Elizabeth Colbert Busch Likely to Face Off In SC Special Election After Tomorrow’s Runoff

The special runoff election in South Carolina is tomorrow and Mark Sanford is poised to win the Republican nomination. We will get an update from Columbia Free Times reporter Correy Hutchins.